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JULY 21, 2022
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Selectboard mulls changes to Taft Corners zoning draft BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Feedback from concerned residents and landowners may alter the final form that new zoning regulations for Taft Corners take. The Williston Selectboard is considering adopting “form-based code” for the 1,000-acre commercial and residential hub. The code was drafted with the help of a consultant and citizen input over the course
of the past two years and recommended for approval by the planning commission. It aims to create a more pedestrian-friendly growth center, with block-style streets, clustered buildings and pocket parks. The selectboard opened the proposal to public comment over the course of its past two meetings this month, and will continue to consider it at an Aug. 23 meeting. Feedback so far has surfaced several potential issues with the draft that the board is considering changing.
Some residents, for example, have objected to building heights that will be allowed, which could top out at 100 feet, according to Planning and Zoning Director Matt Boulanger. “(They) will be twice as tall as the Finney Crossing buildings,” resident Marcia Urie wrote in a letter to the selectboard. “This is totally out of scale with the surroundings.” John Marcotte, a member of the Historic and Architectural Advisory Committee,
said that the drawings that have been presented to help residents visualize how development will occur under the new code have failed to accurately depict the proposed building heights. “What if one or a few scattered buildings of these proposed sizes are built, and then … it is several years before more are added. We can end up with tall standalone buildings,” Marcotte said. “If people strongly object, then it’s too late to lower them.” see ZONING page 21
Village tour sparks zoning discussion BY KARSON PETTY Community News Service
Williston Senior Planner Emily Heymann outlined proposed updates to Williston Village zoning regulations as she led a group of curious residents along Williston Road last Thursday. The consensus among attendees: Officials need to balance the desire for more development with preserving the village’s historic character. A first for Williston, the tour was a flagship event for planning officials in their efforts to spread awareness and gather public input on the proposed zoning updates, which aim to boost the number of people moving in and starting businesses in the village. “I think what this is trying to do is to make it so people can afford to maintain their houses so that we get some more infill and maybe eventually have some new business,” said Williston Planning Commission Vice Chair Chapin Kaynor, who joined more than a dozen other residents as they set off from Town Hall around 5 p.m. The tour was set in motion by the 2018 adoption of a new village master plan, an addition to the town’s 2016-2024 comprehensive plan, Heymann said. “The master plan set goals for revising the zoning so the standards are clearer, easier for property owners to understand and for the boards and staff to administer,” she said. By Aug. 5 this year, planning staff hope
to start finalizing zoning updates with a formal hearing process. The zoning updates also aim to boost village vibrancy by allowing the development of kiosk-style businesses like icecream stands and to-go coffee shops, plus giving owners of historic homes more flexibility in making repairs. Work on such homes is tightly regulated under current zoning standards — as a way to ensure historic preservation — but planners want to loosen the rules so that people can more easily roll out needed fixes. “The current standards are discouraging that vibrancy,” Heymann said. Heymann curated the tour so that each of its 12 stops would correspond to certain topics addressed by the proposed zoning updates. The first three stops represented the largest areas of proposed regulation revision and prompted the most discussion from participants. First, Heymann explained the difficulties owners of historic homes face with repairs or renovations at a stop centered on slate, windows and materials. Current historic preservation guidelines require homeowners to respect the original character of a building. The town’s Historic and Architectural Advisory Committee ― which pre-approves applications for historic restoration before they reach official development review ― has often interpreted that verbiage as requiring homeowners to make repairs with
Williston Senior Planner Emily Heymann, center, leads a tour of the village to spark discussion about proposed zoning updates in the historic district. OBSERVER PHOTO BY KARSON PETTY
original materials. In the past, most appeals to the committee have been handled on a case-bycase basis, Heymann said, which can result in unequal treatment. “It’s important for what it means to the property owners because updating homes and structures is expensive and takes investment,” she said. One such homeowner, long-time village resident Carmyn Stanko, said she could not afford to replace her single-pane windows when needed because current
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historic preservation standards required her to use multi-pane wooden windows. “I’m retired now, and I can no longer afford to maintain my home like I did when I was working,” Stanko said. At a later stop, the group discussed how to update current residential density standards to allow for more development without disrupting the traditional character of the village. That’s where the discussion got a little see TOUR page 24
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